NJDEP report: Six sites contaminated near creek
Report on ground water contamination due out this month
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Six sites near the former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site on Long Branch Avenue show signs of contamination, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Some 49 additional areas surrounding the former MGP site were tested by the DEP and showed no signs of contamination, according to the DEP's findings.

The DEP released the Long Branch Environmental Justice Petition Soil Sample Report last week in response to a petition submitted by the Long Branch Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC) in March 2004.

According to the report, the DEP collected 55 soil samples from 28 locations in May, which included the following areas:

+ Eight samples from four locations on the east side of Long Branch Avenue;

+ 10 samples from five locations on the north side of Seaview Avenue;

+ 12 samples from six locations on the west side of Ellis Avenue;

+ 15 samples from eight locations on the Grant Court Housing Complex on Long Branch Avenue; and

+ 10 samples from five background locations selected by the DEP.

At the Grant Court Housing Complex, contaminates were found in four of the 15 samples collected and, according to the report, the contaminates found are typical of contamination found at MGP sites.

But the reports include the finding that the soil contamination may have another source.

"These contaminates are also typical of numerous non-MGP and/or anthropogenic sources. It is possible that non-MGP sources of these contaminates may have been associated with historical activities and/or uses of the Grant Court property," it states. "However, such information is not available to the DEP at this time."

Of the four sites deemed contaminated, only one site exceeded the soil clean-up criteria (SCC) by 0.05 parts per million, and according to the report, "from a practical perspective, the contaminant levels are at the SCC levels.

Considering these facts, the DEP does not see a need to "conduct additional sampling at this location or consider the findings to suggest there is a risk to human health or the environment."

At the other three locations, additional sampling is warranted, the report said, and the DEP concluded that two of those locations do not pose an imminent risk of direct contact exposure to humans and at the remaining location, the arsenic level detected does not suggest the need for immediate remedial action.

The DEP has pledged to conduct outreach regarding the findings and "will work to determine the necessary remediation steps and associated time-frames," according to the report.

At the Ellis Avenue site, two of the 12 areas tested positive for contaminates, but according to the report, "These contaminates are beneath the road surface of Ellis Avenue. The DEP concludes that this contamination is likely associated with the paving materials used during road construction and/or a localized non-MGP source.

"At this time, the DEP does not believe the data [from the Ellis Avenue site] suggests any imminent risk of exposure to human health or the environment from the soil contamination beneath Ellis Avenue," the report states.

The DEP selected its sample locations based on the specific areas that the CCC identified in its petition. The CCC is a local group community members formed in 2002 to oversee the remediation of the former MGP site.

The petition area of concern is a mixed residential and commercial area in the city bounded to the north by Atlantic Avenue, to the west by Liberty Street, to the south by Broadway and to the east by Long Branch Avenue.

The former MGP site is surrounded by businesses, private homes and Troutmans Creek, which is used for crabbing, boating and sport fishing, according to the CCC.

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) produced gas at the site from 1956 to 1961, and from 1962 to 1972 NJNG operated a liquid propane gas facility at the site. The production of the gas generated a coal tar waste as a byproduct, according to the Department of Environmental Protection and Energy (DEPE).

In 1983, the City of Long Branch collected soil and water samples from the site that indicated the presence of coal tar-related compounds throughout the site, and the DEPE began assessing the potential adverse health and environmental effects of the former coal gasification plant, according to the DEPE.

The DEP has required that NJNG remediate contamination attributable to the site and NJNG has performed a combination of restricted use and unrestricted use remedial action for the majority of the soil contamination attributable to the site including the former Conrail property, former Jerry Morgan Park, the majority of the former MGP site, Seaview Manor Housing Complex, Grant Court Housing Complex, Long Branch Sewage Authority properties and numerous other off-site properties, according to a historical summary and current status of MGP remediation in the report.

Remediation of the remaining soil contamination on the former MGP site, the Atlantic Plumbing Supply Company property and the culvert area that connects the on-site portion of Troutmans Creek to the off-site portion is also planned to begin in early to mid-2006, according to the report.

The DEP investigation and remedy selection for ground water contamination attributable to the former MGP site is nearing completion with reports due out this month, according to the report.